1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a booster cloth comprising a sheet of material which dissolves in water during laundering and which contains releasable active detergency boosters. The invention also relates to a dispenser for the booster cloths and to a method of making this dispenser.
2. Description of Related Art
Detergency boosters are added to heavily soiled and/or stained laundry to provide peak performance of conventional detergents, particularly at low laundering temperatures. While conventional detergents are often introduced via the dispensing compartment of the washing machine, detergency boosters are placed directly in the washing machine before or after it is loaded with dirty laundry.
One commercially available type of detergency booster is the booster cloth (also called booster film or booster sheet). This product takes the form of a solid sheet of material into which all the active ingredients of the particular detergency booster are already incorporated. The cloths are designed to dissolve completely in the wash water under laundering conditions. In order to provide the requisite water solubility, these booster cloths are formulated from materials, typically polyvinyl alcohols, which make the resulting cloth extremely brittle with only minimal tear resistance. Because of these poor structural properties, this type of booster cloth cannot be bent through 180.degree., i.e., folded, without breaking. It is also difficult to wind them into rolls (on tubes) because, under tensile stress, the material tends to tear randomly rather than along a predetermined perforation line. Accordingly, there would be no guarantee of proper dosage. In practice, therefore, the individual cloths are stored stackwise and have to be individually lifted off upwards for use.